Paragon of Insanity
by Porcelain Birds
Summary: In a situation as screwed up as theirs, it is only expected that their minds would reflect as much. Bay/Daphne pre-slash.


_A/N: This is a pre-slash Bay/Daphne one-shot. It will not be continued, though I may or may not post more one-shots related to this one. It is rated on the far end of the 'T' spectrum for references to a sexual encounter. All quotes belong to me, though some were inspired by other quotes. Also, just to clarify, the characterization of Daphne, Bay, Toby, Emmett, and Wilke may not be my personal opinion, nor will it be the same characterization in all of my stories. This is simply for the purpose of this one-shot. Please review, and let me know what you think. _

* * *

><p><em>Statistics show that the leading cause of death in the United States is caused by heart diseases. Almost all diseases can be diagnosed, either while the patient is alive, or postmortem. Some say that a heart attack would be one of the most painful ways to die; feeling the panic, feeling the body shutting down.<em>

_However, as any love struck teenager would tell you, the pain of a broken heart slowly kills one from the inside. It has no cure, and no doctor can successfully diagnose it. There is no set treatment for a broken heart, though many teenage girls would recommend movies and ice cream. When faced with a broken heart due to unrequited love, it is highly advised that the victim refrain from watching the object of their unrequited affections, as that can lead to side effects._

_A broken heart cannot be seen, nor can it be truly pinpointed. But as anyone who has suffered from this aching malady knows, it can be felt in every part of the body, mind, and soul._

* * *

><p>Daphne Vasquez watched with raging jealousy, as Emmett and Bay kissed fiercely on the front porch of the lavish Kennish home. The pit of her stomach was boiling with anger, as she saw the object of her secret desires kiss another person. Forcing herself to wrench her eyes away from the sight, Daphne swallowed down the bile, and tried not to think about how they had probably already had sex.<p>

She took several cleansing breaths attempting to calm herself down. She didn't understand herself. Was she really such a fickle girl? She had always strived to be someone to be proud of, to overcome the obstacles in her everyday life. But now, having to wake up each morning, after a beautiful dream, and realize that she could never be with the person she wanted to be with, it made her truly depressed.

What was she to do? She could never make her feelings clear, that much she knew. It seemed that one bombshell after another had been launched at Daphne, and she was almost physically ill from the force of them all. She was sixteen years old; she needed time to sort out her feelings, to get her life in order. Her highest priority should be keeping her family together, a task that seemed to be so simple, yet complex, all at the same time.

Yet Daphne did not have to sort her feelings out about this. She knew exactly how she felt. Sappy romance novels were her guilty indulgence, and she knew that she was truly in love. It was a wonderful feeling, but it was marred by the bitter vice of jealousy.

Daphne hated feeling envious. It was an ugly emotion, and she knew that she did not wear it well. Yet it seemed to follow her, an everlasting shadow that she simply could not escape. It crept up on her, and tailed her with every turn of the corner, constantly shoving the happy couple in her face. She had no doubt that the personification of jealousy embodied the Devil himself.

Glancing back, Daphne spared a despairing look at the couple once more. However, this time, she had the misfortune of bad timing. Her blue eyes met Bay's dark, deep, soulful ones, and almost instantly her neck snapped back towards the wall.

Once upon a time, she recalled a conversation at Carlton, in her English class. They had been discussing _The Lovely Bones _and the chapter in which they attempted to figure out what was the best way to die. At the time, Daphne had agreed that an icicle was clearly the best weapon to utilize, if one wanted to murder someone, and get away with it.

However, now she knew better. Daphne now knew that there was another way that would most certainly bring about a slow, torturous death, without any murderer, without any evidence. In fact, she was slowly dying on the inside, from the overflow of love she had for that one special person, a love that was so utterly unrequited, it caused salty tears to spring into her eyes every time she sat down and truly thought about it.

Daphne took a deep shuddery breath, and attempted to regain her composure, before going down the stairs and greeting her mother. It was easy to pretend that she didn't have a slowly breaking heart.

After all, her heart was in the hands of someone else.

* * *

><p><em>To be insane, one must have lived. To be brilliant, one must be insane. To be a thinker, one must understand their insanity. To understand one's insanity, one must understand that they are insane. To understand insanity, one must accept that reality is not real. To accept that reality is not real, one must free their mind.<em>

_But only the insane know how to be free._

* * *

><p>There was just something special about sign language. Bay didn't know what it was, but it just felt so…perfect, to her. She envied Daphne and Emmett, not for their inability to hear, but for their total emersion in a rich and beautiful culture.<p>

Bay had been trying so hard, for the entirety of her life, to fit in somewhere. Whether it is with her family, her school, or her society, she had been trying to find her niche in the world. And when she had discovered that she had been switched at birth, everything suddenly seemed to make sense. But it hadn't been fixed. The answers had been found, but the solution was still elusive.

The dark haired artist often felt like she was a part of two different worlds, but not in the happy, sugarcoated way that Miley Cyrus described in far too many of her songs. She could not leave the comfort of her rich and familiar way of life, but staying in it was becoming stifling, and nearly impossible to bear.

However, Daphne simply seemed to fit in, wherever she went. She belonged so completely, to the deaf community, to her old neighborhood, yet she slid right into life with the Kennish's, and at Buckner Hall. She was simply gifted, in her ability to lodge herself in the hearts of nearly everyone she met. Including Bay.

Bay did not understand. She loved Emmett. At least, she believed that she loved Emmett. But every time she focused on his hands, she imagined a different set of hands, accompanied by a voice. She had bonded so quickly with him, because he was _so much _like Daphne.

The blonde haired drummer was sweet and charming, and he tried so hard for her, and he was completely perfect. But Bay did not want perfect. She thrived off of conflict; it was when she finally felt at peace. There was so much chaos in her head, when the external variables of her life reflected that, she felt sane, and comfortable.

Emmett did not understand. Sure, he was willing to go through the complications of being with a hearing girl, but it was not enough. Bay knew she was selfish. She loved that about herself. She had never had self esteem problems, because perfection had never been a priority for her.

Bay wanted someone complicated, someone that was as screwed up as she was. She wanted someone who would hurt her, someone selfish, but kind. Maybe Bay was masochistic in the fact that she wanted someone like that. But she didn't think so. She wanted someone who was so deliciously human, but did not pretend to be anything but.

It was a very tall order Bay Kennish had. She knew that few people could fit the bill. Tyler had been rough and tough, her 'discovery' phase. She had wanted to know what her life would have been like, if the nurse had never made the switch. But when Ty left, she had figured out that her feelings left quickly with him.

Liam had been a quick passing guy, the person she should have been with, if she had been Bay Kennish, biologically. He barely even deserved mentioning, but he was decent enough to her, just too…vanilla, ironically.

And then there was Emmett. Sweet, sarcastic, caring Emmett. Bay knew that it would not work out with Emmett, though she was so desperately clinging to the hope that it would. She wanted to pretend that she could still be slightly normal, even if deaf and hearing was not the standard of society today. But she wanted to pretend that her emotions and her feelings were not as screwed up as they truly were.

Yet she couldn't. She could lie to the world, but Bay would never be able to lie to herself. Whenever that head of light ginger hair walked by, Bay's eyes followed. Whenever those delicate fingers formed the words that her ears could not hear, Bay watched attentively.

Bay always knew that she would never truly fit in anywhere. She always seemed to have one foot out the door. She always knew that she was trying to find some deeper meaning to her life. But now that she had finally found it, Bay Kennish knew that she would never pursue it.

After all, their lives were already screwed up. She didn't need to make Daphne's any worse than it was.

* * *

><p><em>The definition of a brother is to be loving, supporting, and caring. The best brothers tease their sisters mercilessly, are a<em>_lways there when they are needed. They are there to load their fathers' guns when boys come calling, and they can get away with threatening boyfriends, and actually making good on a threat. If a policeman were to investigate, all a brother would have to do, would be to say that he was defending his sister's honor, and fifty percent of the time it would work. However, what makes a brother truly great, is their abilities to completely understand what a younger sister is going through, while completely missing the point._

* * *

><p>Toby Kennish was like any other teenage boy. He liked girls, he liked cars, and he liked music. He had had dealt with his gambling problem, and was now turning onto the task of asking a pretty girl to the formal. His life was relatively normal.<p>

He had two sisters. Bay and Daphne. One was his biological sister, and was the single person in the entire world, who was the closest DNA match to him, as he had learned in biology. The other girl was his sister. He had no other word for her, for to call her 'real' would imply that Daphne was nonexistent. But Bay was his _sister_.

She had tossed baby food at him from her high chair, and he had pulled on her pigtails when she was five. She had proclaimed his music to be lame, and he had mocked her so called 'art'. Bay had helped him out of debt numerous times, and Toby had set boys straight on where they stood with him.

However, this new boy, Emmett, put him in a difficult position. He was dating Bay, and he made her happy. He didn't hurt her, he acted like a gentleman, and he did not pressure her. In fact, Toby was more inclined to think that Bay might pressure him.

But Daphne was in love with the deaf drummer as well. Toby had no idea how long that particular crush had been going on, but he knew that it had been for quite some time. Toby was quite proud of himself for spotting that particular interest, as he was normally quite an obtuse person. But he wasn't blind. He had seen the longing looks Daphne had tossed Bay and Emmett.

So he had no idea where he should stand on the issue. On one hand, he had his biological sister, a sweet, happy girl that Toby already loved unconditionally. But on the other hand, he had his other sister, the girl who tormented him endlessly, and his best friend. It put him in quite the predicament.

In the end, Toby decided that he should simply sit this one out. He would stand back and watch, and make sure that this Emmett boy did not hurt either of his siblings. He knew that it would most likely happen eventually, but he would be waiting in the wings for when it did.

Toby Kennish was a smart guy.

* * *

><p><em>Those who believe themselves to be perfect are anything but. Those who seek out perfection already have it. Those who think perfection is nothing but a word, refuse to face their own imperfections. Those obsessed with perfection are the ones who would do just about anything to get it. Those who believe their significant other to be perfect, have already lost their love. <em>

* * *

><p>Emmett Bledsoe was an emotional person. He did not have shallow emotions, he felt them quite deeply. It was both a blessing and a curse. When he fell in love, he fell deeply, and irrevocably. His mother always told him that it was his greatest gift. Emmett always thought it to be his worst nightmare.<p>

He had been in love with Daphne for many years. He had watched her since he was six, watched as her pale red hair billowed in the wind, watched as she walked home. However, he knew that it would never work out. His mother had always told him that hearing girls and deaf boys do not work. And so he had done nothing but watch.

Until one day, when several rude third grade girls began picking on Daphne. He had no idea what had spurned him to defend her, but he did so, expecting her to cringe at his awful sounding voice, and the hearing aid , clear as day in his ear. But he had found out that she was like him. She was deaf. It was then that Emmett decided he was in love with her, and he was going to marry her.

Emmett had always loved Daphne. He knew that he always would. He loved Bay too, but in a different way. In a way not as strong. And Emmett would always feel guilty for it, but he was using Bay. She was his replacement, his own phase of discovery.

He wanted to learn who Daphne would have been. Had Regina brought home the right baby, who would that little girl have been? Would she still have been deaf? Would she be Daphne, or would she be Bay? There were so many questions, that it made Emmett's head spin, but he was determined to figure it out. In the dark caverns of his mind, where his deepest secrets were locked away, he thought of Bay as 'hearing Daphne'. He knew it was wrong, and dishonest to Bay, but she wanted him. He thought of her as who Daphne would have been, and this 'Daphne' liked him back. This 'Daphne' shared his love of art.

This 'Daphne' was perfect.

Emmett knew that one day he would slip up. He was just waiting for the day when he accidentally signed Daphne instead of Bay, but until then, he would enjoy this ride while it lasted. He felt Bay slipping away from him though, which scared him. No, it terrified him. He couldn't let this 'Daphne' go. Though she was truly Bay, and she never seemed to stick around anywhere.

For the longest time, Emmett had always had abandonment issues. He had been born into a deaf world, so he had accepted it as normal. But when he had met Daphne, he had finally looked it up, and he had found dozens of horror stories, about deaf children who had been abandoned.

From then on, Emmett had an irrational fear of being abandoned. He had attempted clinging tighter to Daphne, when she moved in with the Kennish family, and began dating Liam. He had lashed out, in both fear and jealousy, and attempted to keep her. And when he felt her slipping further, he had latched onto Bay.

But now the dark haired artist was slipping away. Emmett felt his heart race, and his palms begin to sweat just thinking about it. He loved Daphne. Bay was no Daphne, but she was close enough. She was a perfect Daphne, aside from her hearing. Emmett loved perfection. He loved the thrill of capturing a perfect photograph, of getting a perfect equation.

Bay was the perfect Daphne. And Emmett was determined to keep this one.

* * *

><p><em>Sometimes, to find the solution to the most complex of problems, you just need to simplify. <em>

* * *

><p>Wilke Vanderslot was an amazing friend. To say that he was an amazing boyfriend would be a straight up lie, but he was not bragging when he said that he was a top notch friend. Sure, he was crass, and full of innuendos, but for the most part, he was generous, considering, and compassionate.<p>

Of course, he and Toby had gotten into trouble, but that had been an error of judgment. Nothing else on his rapport reflected bad companionship. He would do anything for his friends, the few that he had. He would bail Toby out of jail if he had to, he would get wasted with Daphne, and he would let Bay throw paint balloons at him.

And yeah, if he reaped some benefits from having sex with Daphne to cheer her up, well, who could blame him?

Of course, after the act, it was slightly awkward, especially considering Daphne had called him 'Bay' while she was at her climax. But he had quickly cracked a joke, and the pair had cleared the air. Sure, Wilke was slightly disappointed that his potential girlfriend turned out to be lesbian for his best friend's sister-other sister-but he was a sucky boyfriend anyways. Or so Cherry told him.

But he and Daphne had slid straight back into their old friendship, only closer than ever. Wilke was fairly sure that they were so close, people might start speculating that he was Daphne's 'gay friend'. His hair often made people question anyways. Of course, the equation was flipped, but he wouldn't tell a soul. In fact, it actually solved a lot of problems.

Bay was pretty much Wilke's little sister. He had grown up around Toby, and therefore Bay. So he loved her like a sister, and he loved Daphne like a…lesbian best friend. And as far as he was concerned, Emmett did not deserve either of them. He had hurt both of them, and that was so not cool with Wilke. He did not want Bay with that dude, but he wanted her to be happy. And he wanted Daphne to be happy.

Therefore, they were totally perfect for each other.


End file.
